Metlen is planning further investments in critical raw materials, such as scandium and germanium, announced the company’s Chairman and CEO Evangelos Mytilineos on Thursday, in statements during a visit by the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Stéphane Séjourné, to the Aluminium of Greece plant in Agios Nikolaos, Boeotia.
The visit followed the European Union’s recent decision to include Metlen’s investment in Boeotia for the production of gallium, another of the three critical raw materials produced when processing bauxite to make aluminium, to its list of Strategic Projects.
Séjourné highlighted the importance of the gallium production investment for Greece and Europe: “Greece can play a very important role in the matter of critical raw materials.” He emphasised the importance of projects that reduce Europe’s dependency on imports, noting that the specific project would cover 30% of Europe’s aluminium needs.
“We worked closely with Greek Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas in the college of commissioners for the specific project, especially the critical raw materials that have great importance for Greece and for Europe. Europe now is 98% dependent on imports for gallium and 87% for aluminium. We need European sovereignty and that is why we support this project,” he said.
“Metlen’s investment for the production of gallium is a flagship, strategic investment for the Greek but also the European economy as a whole,” said Development Minister Takis Theodorikakos. “It is directly linked with the autonomy and security of Greece and all of Europe. The development ministry actively supports this investment. Over the recent period it has legislated and created the appropriate regulatory framework for investments in critical raw materials in our country and the competent committee at the development ministry has already classed the specific investment as a flagship investment,” he added.
“Reinforcing industry is a crucial priority for creating a new production model for our economy and is pivotal to the new developmental law being prepared by the development ministry in the coming period,” he said.
Mytilineos, on his part, also raised the issue of competitiveness for European industry in relation to the cost of energy, saying that the EU had not paid sufficient attention to this aspect.
The Metlen investment has a budget of 295.5 million euros and will lead to an annual production capacity of 2.0 million tons of bauxite, 1.265 million tons of aluminum (from 865,000 tons at present) and 50 MT Gallium, fully substituting for European gallium imports.
The EU has issued a list of 34 critical raw materials needed to implement strategic EU policies, such as the green transition or developing its defence capability. Gallium production is currently exclusively based in China, which in 2023 placed restrictions on exports. It is used for LED lights, IT and telecommunications systems, and magnets, among others.
